Some Poll Numbers (Taken Before Yesterday's Election)
From an AP-GfK poll of 1,008 adult Americans, taken over January 12-17:
_42 percent rated Obama as an above average or outstanding president. A year ago, 65 percent expected him to be.
_The economy continues to be the dominant concern, and Obama's 47 percent approval rating on handling the economy has hardly budged for months.
_48 percent trust Democrats more to handle health care; 38 percent trust Republicans. But respondents were split 42-42 percent on the package being considered by Congress. That was a slight increase in support for the plans.
_59 percent expect their taxes to increase under Obama, up from 35 percent a year ago.
_49 percent trust Democrats more on the economy; 40 percent trust Republicans.
The writeup of the poll, via the Cincy Enquirer, notes that on the anniversary of Barack Obama's inauguration,
The excitement of Obama's inauguration and the inflated expectations of that time are gone. His approval ratings have been in the 50s since July, sliding from 74 percent a year ago.
Hopes that he would become an extraordinary president have been tempered during a year of economic calamity, an escalating war in Afghanistan and sharp elbows in the health care debate, the poll suggests.
Gotta love the passive voice here: So many random events have tempered all those hopes! As if Obama had nothing to do with the economy, the war in Afghanistan, and health care reform. Bad luck for him to take office just as that stimulus package came along, all those troops went to Afghanistan, and Congress geared up on health care. Ah well.